Concertmaster Dennis Kim to make debut at Pacific Symphony’s opening night

Dennis Kim will make his his official debut as the Pacific Symphony’s newest concertmaster at the season opener Sept. 27 at Segerstrom Concert Hall, but he already feels quite at home.

“First of all, (music director) Carl (St.Clair) and I look at music the same way, we’re on the same page,” said Kim, who also will share solo honors with principal violist Meredith Crawford in Mozart’s “Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major.”

“Next, I am impressed with the level of cooperation between management, music director and musicians. It’s refreshing to see management not afraid to take risks, that there’s a high artistic integrity, and that management makes artistic decisions when many other groups make more budget-driven ones.

“Then there’s the very high playing level — a good blend of young players bringing energy, and older bringing experience, a wonderful concert hall and this beautiful Southern California weather.”

This last attribute is proving a marked contrast for the Korean-born, Toronto-raised, former Finland- and Buffalo, N.Y.-residing (all cold-weather locales) Kim, who arrives here after spending six seasons as concertmaster of Tampere Philharmonic in Finland and the last three as concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic, which St.Clair guest-conducted two years ago.

“He mentioned in passing then that there was an opening for concertmaster” was how Kim first heard about it. “About a year later, Carl called and asked me to play for a week with the orchestra. And others would bring the opening to my attention as well.”

Eventually, Kim was chosen the new concertmaster in April, following Raymond Kobler, who served in that capacity for 17 seasons before retiring in 2016.

“I admire and respect Raymond Kobler,” Kim said, claiming he’s not apprehensive about following a legendary, much-beloved figure. “He’s got big shoes to fill, but I bring my own ideas to the table.”

Paramount is bringing the Pacific Symphony closer to the Orange County community.

“My first order of business is to get immersed in the community as much as I can,” he said. “I want to help bring the Pacific Symphony to parts of the community who don’t know about this orchestra. This is a diverse community, and we have to let them know they don’t have to travel to Los Angeles, that they have a world-class orchestra right here in their own backyard.”

Kim became “immersed” in the orchestra from the start by soloing the Mozart with Crawford.

“The Mozart is a beautiful piece, but not the easiest to start a season off with,” said Kim, who will play on a 1701 Stradivarius once owned and played by Samuel Dushkin, who worked with the likes of George Gershwin and Igor Stravinsky, the latter involving this very instrument in premieres of some of his violin works. Kim has had the violin on loan the past 11 years.

“Meredith and I play a very stylistic Mozart,” said Kim, who last played the Sinfonia concertante in his first season with the Buffalo Philharmonic three years ago and, with Crawford, will repeat it on the Pacific Symphony’s Sunday at Soka series Nov. 18. “We’ve already started rehearsing it, and she plays beautifully. Audiences will get a chance to see principal players of this orchestra perform as soloists.”

Kim has soloed with orchestras since 14 (Toronto Philharmonic).

After seeing a customer walk into his parents’ convenience store in Toronto carrying a violin case when he was 4, and studying the violin in earnest at 5, Kim has his teachers and parents to thank for keeping after him in times he struggled with the violin.

“Having very supportive parents and teachers meant there never was a time I felt like there was a chance to quit,” said Kim, who studied at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Yale School of Music.

Constantly surrounded by music, Kim and his family — wife a cellist, one daughter a flutist and the other a bassoonist — recently moved to Irvine, which Kim said is a city with “very high standards” and strong school music programs.

“My main job now is here with the Pacific Symphony,” he said. “I love to establish myself here, then we’ll see what happens going forward. This will be a very exciting season for me.”

If You Go

What: Pacific Symphony season opener, “Rach 3 & Boléro”

Who: Dennis Kim, concertmaster, violin soloist; Pacific Symphony, Carl St.Clair, conductor; Olga Kern, piano soloist; Meredith Crawford, viola soloist

When: 8 p.m. Sept. 27 to 29; and 3 p.m. Sept. 30 (short program)

Where: Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive near Bristol St., Costa Mesa

Cost: Tickets start at $34 ($30 Sunday)

Information: (714) 755-5799, pacificsymphony.org.